


Do The Right Thing

by Blue_Night



Category: Football RPF, Real Person Fiction
Genre: Civil Courage, Courage, Established Relationship, Fist Fights, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Secret Relationship, Violence, rough language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-05
Updated: 2015-07-05
Packaged: 2018-04-07 20:18:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4276617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Night/pseuds/Blue_Night
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marco and Erik want to enjoy a quiet and peaceful evening in their beloved city. But then, something happens and Marco acts without thinking...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do The Right Thing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GoForGoals](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoForGoals/gifts).



> My dear friend GoForGoals, I don't think that I need to say much, right? You inspired me to this story and I want to gift it to you, because you are very close to my heart and I want to cheer you up a little bit. I hope you will like this story, even though it isn't fluffy at all, but it comes from the bottom of my heart.
> 
> The title is another song title from a rather old one, but still one of my favorites. I think it suits this story perfectly. 
> 
> Dear readers, civil courage is a rather delicate topic to write about and I really would like you to share your thoughts with me, because things like that happens more oftentimes these days than they should. So please, let me know what you think about my little fic. :-)

The streets are silent at this rather late hour, only a few pedestrians walking by as Marco and Erik stroll through their beloved city of Dortmund. They don't walk as close side by side as they would like to as the couple they truly are in private, just as close as the two friends and teammates they are for the public and their fans.

It is still hot and the sun hasn't gone down under the horizon, hovering as a big red ball over the roofs of the buildings they can see in the distance.

“Puh, this heat kills me,” Marco complains and Erik chuckles at that. “Says the man spending his time in Miami. Look, there is a cafe selling ice cream. You will feel better when you had some cold and delicious ice cream. Let us go there and buy some.”

Marco follows his boyfriend heading towards the small cafe with fast steps more slowly, and when he hears some noise from the dark alley to his right side, he stops, peering around the corner.

What he sees makes his blood run cold and he can feel goose bumps forming on his arms and his back despite the incredible heat all of a sudden.

Two young men are bent over a third one lying on the street, kicking him with their heavy boots and beating him every time he tries to struggle back onto his feet. Marco can see that they are wearing some kind of steel-toed boots, and the boy cries out in pain every time one of the boots hits him.

Marco doesn't think twice, he just reacts, storming towards the two bullies and yelling: “Stop that! Leave him be!”

The two men turn around to him with a scornful grin on their faces and Marco can see that they are most likely drunk. He knows that he's in danger to be attacked himself, but right now, he doesn't care about himself. All he cares about is to help the young man lying bleeding on the dirty asphalt, his face swollen and covered with bruises. “Go away from him, you assholes!” he cries again, stepping between the injured boy and the two bullies.

“And why should we do that, you mother fucker?” one of the ugly and hardly grown up sneers, his blond hair dirty and greesy.

“This is nothing of your business. Go away or you will go down just like he did!” the other teenager with the ruffled brown hair growls, raising his fists as he makes a step forward.

Marco lifts his own hands to protect his face, but he doesn't back away from his two adversaries.

“You're begging for trouble, you little faggot!” The one with the dirty blond hair snarls with a smug and ugly grin on his face and Marco can see a red scar splitting his right cheek into two halves.

Marco flinches, because they really can't know that he is in love with another man, but then, Marco realizes that they only try to disturb and frighten him by calling him by opprobrious names.

“So are you! I am not to defeat that easily!” he snaps back, and only his good reflexes help him to avoid the first hit of the one with the brown hair.

“Marco, damn it, what are you doing?!” Erik's voice sounds from behind and Marco can hear his footsteps clattering loudly on the hot pavement as his boyfriend approaches them.

“I called an ambulance and the police!” he gasps out of breath, taking up position beside the blond winger. Marco has lost his cap as he ducked away from the blow that was meant to hit him in his face and it takes him three seconds to realize that the two young men have stopped their attack, staring incredulously at Erik and him with their mouths hanging open.

“Fuck, this is Marco Reus!” One of them stammers when he has found his tongue back again. “And Erik Durm, fuck, fuck, fuck... We're sorry, man we didn't mean to...”

Marco lets out a bitter laughter as he stares back at them and the jerseys of his beloved BVB they wear. He hadn't noticed that important detail before, too busied with defending the teenager now lying unconscious on the hard ground, his blood trickling down from his mouth. He isn't sure whether he shall be grateful that him being one of their football heroes has saved his ass from being kicked, or if he shall be angry about the fact that they would have beaten him, too, if he wasn't one of their idols.

Erik in the meantime has crouched down beside the poor teenager, checking his injuries. “He needs medical help, I hope that the ambulance will be here any time soon.”

The two bullies flinch and try to sneak their way out of the small alley, but the shouting and yelling has drawn some attention from other pedestrians and their way out of the alley and into freedom is blocked by the crowd standing at the entrance to the side street watching the scene with greedy eyes.

Marco grabs one of them by the jersey with his own name on the broadly built back. “Oh no, you will stay here until the police is here. I don't care about you having an argument with this poor guy. But, I do care about him having been beaten unconscious by you two. Arguments can't be solved with fists. You'll have to learn using your brain the next time and talk instead of fight!”

The teenagers hang their heads, their shoulders slumped as they wait in silence for the police to come and pick them up. Marco watches them attentively, straining his ears for the sirens he hopefully will hear within the next couple of minutes. The crowd at the entrance is only a black shadow against the breaking dawn, but he can hear them murmur and whisper as the spectators watch them, eager for every bloody detail, and he is pretty sure that a lot of them are recording the whole incident with their smartphones. They don't dare to come nearer though and Marco is grateful for that.

“Where am I?” the small voice comes from the teenager who has regained consciousness again, and Marco smiles as he listens to Erik's gentle reply. “The ambulance will be here, soon, dude, don't you worry. Just lie still, please.” He has taken the boy's head in his lap, not caring about the blood soaking his jeans.

“Erik Durm? Am I dreaming? Are you Erik Durm?” the boy whispers, his voice filled with pain and Erik strokes his hair. “Yes, I am. I will visit you in the hospital tomorrow, I promise you. Listen, I can hear the sirens, they will be here in no time and take care of you.”

The boys smiles shakily, one single tear rolling over his bruised cheek. “Thank you,” he says, pressing Erik's hand, and Marco feels a huge lump in his throat as he watches his wonderful boyfriend soothing the injured and scared boy.

The sirens become louder and the next minutes pass by in some kind of haze. Marco watches the medics taking care of the young boy and Erik asking for the boys name and in which hospital they will bring him, promising him again that they will visit him the very next day. The young man is in complete awe and wonder that two of his football heroes came to his rescue and this helps him enduring the first treatment and the pain he must feel.

Marco answers the questions of the policemen acquiring his first assertion like an automaton, trying to ignore the adoring glances of the blond woman in uniform standing beside the older man.

“Yes, we will come with you to your police station,” he agrees, looking at Erik's blood-stained jeans. Erik smiles at him reassuringly. “I'm fine, Marco, don't worry. This is important.”

“You have done great,” the young policewoman says. “It would be good if more people would show such civil courage like you did tonight.”

Marco shrugs his shoulders, feeling a little bit uncomfortable, because he doesn't think that he has done something extraordinary.

“I didn't think about civil courage, being brave or something like that. I didn't think, at all, I guess. I only saw this boy lying bleeding on the ground and these bullies kicking and beating him, and all I wanted to do was help him like my friends would help me if it was me lying there bleeding on the ground. I just wanted to do the right thing.”


End file.
